I just got the Viper Start folding knife. It's not a new model i know, but i don't care about getting the latest stuff. Anyway i love it, but i've noticed that when the blade is deployed there is a clicking sound from the pivot area when i move my hand from side to side. Only when deployed though, when the knife is closed there is no noise. The blade isn't loose or anything. It's driving me a little nuts tbh. Does anyone have an idea what it could be?
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New knife making clicking noise.
- Thread starter Craig89
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Do you wear a ring?
I have a Viper Start, and after reading your post I checked to see if I could detect any clicking noise, as I've never heard any before. The only clicking noise I can make the knife make near the pivot is if I squeeze the handle hard just below the pivot. I don't know what's causing it, and it's so faint I barely notice it, so I don't know if it's the same clicking you're referring to.
Have you checked the tightness of the handle screws?
Maybe, if a handle scale is separating slightly from the liner when pressure is applied, lubricant between the scale and liner can produce a clicking/popping noise when the parts separate.
Or, another possibility, there is a torsion spring under each handle scale attached to the liners that provides the tension for the back lock, perhaps one of the springs is loose. Maybe take the handle scales off and check the screws that hold the springs in place.
Have you checked the tightness of the handle screws?
Maybe, if a handle scale is separating slightly from the liner when pressure is applied, lubricant between the scale and liner can produce a clicking/popping noise when the parts separate.
Or, another possibility, there is a torsion spring under each handle scale attached to the liners that provides the tension for the back lock, perhaps one of the springs is loose. Maybe take the handle scales off and check the screws that hold the springs in place.
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Yes i've checked. I tightened the handle screws a little more as well so it's not that. It actually stops sometimes, i'll open it and there's nothing, then i'll close and deploy it again and it's back. Sometimes it's quite loud and sometimes quite faint. Strange. I'm too paranoid to try and disassemble it to look though.
I added to my post, referring to the springs under the handle scales.
You can remove the scales without the knife coming apart. The screws that hold the handles on are not the same screws that hold the knife together. There are other screws under the scales that hold the knife together. Just be sure to keep track of which handle screw goes into which hole. Because as I recall, the screws are of different lengths to accommodate for the contours of the handle scales.
Barman1
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Since it is a lockback does it have a stop pin to keep the blade from contacting the back spring when closing/closed?
Stop pins are rather notorious for having some play and rattling around and seeing as yours rattles when open that would be my best guess if that's a relevant thing.
Stop pins are rather notorious for having some play and rattling around and seeing as yours rattles when open that would be my best guess if that's a relevant thing.
I don't think there is a stop pin
I took them off. Nothing underneath was not right. I may need to just send it back and get a replacement. It's a bit of a bummer, i'm in the UK, getting certain knives is a lot more difficult here, it took months for the one i wanted (green micarta scales stonewashed blade) to become available on a UK site and this happens :/
There is a stop pin (at least there is in mine), it prevents the edge of the blade from hitting the spacer between the liners. I don't know if that could be causing an audible click though. It's a confounding mystery.
I hope you're able to get a good replacement.
You're right, it's the stop pin, just stuck a cotton bud inside to touch it and it stopped the rattling. As you can tell i'm no expert lol. Is there a way to tighten it?
If the pivot is snug and the screws under the handle scales are tight then I can't think of any way to tighten the stop pin as it's just a pin set between the liners. However, if you were to take the knife completely apart, you could put thick grease on the ends of the pin, and this might stop it from rattling. But since it's just a sound, and shouldn't affect the function of the knife, taking it apart might be more trouble than it's worth, particularly with the odd pivot assembly.
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I took the handle scales off and rubbed some vaseline on each side with a cotton ear bud, where the pin is. It worked
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I have an old cold steel recon 1 that the pin rattles if shaken or tipped side to side. I fixed it with some grease....but Teflon tape or locktite depending on the hole size in the liners or scales or however it's setup? would work too.
Chronovore
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It's worth learning to take knives apart and put them together again. Definitely see if others have done so already on YouTube to avoid surprises, and just watch some stuff like that to get the general idea. Use quality Torx bits and when they get a little worn, replace them. (It's easier to strip a screw with a worn bit.)
I'm glad you found out it was the stop pin. I've seen this on a few knives over the years, where there is just a little extra space for it to move back or forth. I've occasionally fixed it by cutting a thin shred of polypropylene and putting it in the hole under the pin before reassembly. Grease is clever. Coincidentally, the Speedsafe mechanism in assisted Kershaw knives requires grease on the torsion bar to prevent rattling.